Congratulations to the large delegation on West Gate members, led by SW Bro. Sammy, who attended the Official Visit at Chinguacousy Lodge last night. In total 17 West Gate members attended what turned out to be the largest Official Visit of the year. (I couldn't fit everyone into the photo.)The WM and members of Chinguacousy Lodge did a fine job conferring a second degree, making several presentations and closing the lodge by 10 PM.All in all a great evening.

Excellent job by the aspiring officers for next year during the “Step-Up” meeting. The quality of the work was impressive and we look forward to the future. Congratulations to Bro. Davies, West Gate’s newest Master Mason, who was raised to the Third Degree. Once again he was a fine example of skill and dedication and he should be very proud.

How do you make a great lodge, such as West Gate, better? Ask its members.It is necessary for groups to engage in processes of self-assessment to gauge its effectiveness and improve its performance. Feedback from member is needed to find out both its current strengths and weakness.To improve its current performance, feedback from the team assessment can be used to identify gaps between the desired state and the current state, and to design a gap-closure strategy. At last night’s General Purpose Meeting Bro. Sammy led the member’s through an assessment exercise identifying the member’s perceptions of our current strengths and weaknesses.This led to productive discussions among the member’s about what we like and want.It also communicated why the lodge is doing things a certain way creating understanding.Congratulations Bro. Sammy on using this exercise as a planning tool before the next masonic year starts. As in most things timing makes all the difference.

The purpose of the survey is to solicit an informational response from the members of West Gate Lodge. The questions were designed to gauge;

- Past performance of lodge activities and programming - Information feedback on proposed lodge activities and programming for this year - Information on how the membership views basic principles of what they perceive as important to the lodge

The information garnered from the survey has assisted in the implementation of my Worshipful Master’s Plan for this masonic year. I have implemented different strategies to address different subject areas. The majority of the changes have benefited the lodge as a whole. Click here for the survey resultsConducting a survey of the lodge members is an extremely valuable tool for the membership to express their opinion on lodge matters in a controlled method. I therefore recommend the continued usage of conducting future surveys to enhance lodge programming of activities within and outside of the lodge.

Congratulations to those who volunteered their time working on the Temple this past weekend.I addition to some minor repairs you will notice that a sixteen foot section of the banquet hall wall has been removed. It has been temporarily drywalled as some minor water issues are dealt with. If you are a handyman and would like to assist at a future stage in this project please let the WM know.Special thanks to Bro. DaSilva from River Park Lodge who got this important project rolling.